Podcasting and other forms of streaming digital audiovisual content are very popular today. A podcast is a series of digital audio and/or video files that is released episodically and downloaded through the Internet. Special client software applications sometimes called podcatchers (for example iTunes®, Zune®, Juice® and Winamp®) automatically access a centrally-maintained web feed in order to identify and download new files in a given series as they are released. As new files appear, they are automatically downloaded and stored locally on the user's computing device. The user can then listen to/view the downloaded content. Podcasts (and other recorded programs, both audio-only and video-with-sound) can be played on many types of computing devices, including desktop and laptop computers, iPhones®, iPads®, iPods®, and other portable computing devices such as Treos® or smartphones running Android®.
Once a podcast (or other type of audiovisual program) ends, the user may want to make a comment on the program s/he has just experienced. If the podcaster maintains a website that supports making comments, the user can navigate to the website and type a written comment into a bulletin board, blog, or other text-based commenting system. However, not all podcasters support adding text based comments, and in any case the user may wish to make a comment in the same medium as the podcast itself. Some podcasters also include a telephone number on their website, which a listener can use to call and record a voice message. However, conventional podcasting systems do not enable users to automatically upload audiovisual comments. Additionally, a user may wish to send her/his comment to destinations other than the podcaster, such as to a friend or colleague. This is not supported by conventional podcasting systems either. It would be desirable to address these issues.